SUSPENDED DEPORTATION CASES Public Law 863 of the Eightieth Congress (approved July 1, 1948) enlarged the classes of deportable aliens who were eligible for suspension of deportation but required affirmative congressional approval in each case before the suspension of deportation could become final and the status of the alien could be adjusted to that of a permanent resident. It is the view of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that all cases which were pending before the Congress during the second session of the Eightieth Congress should be handled under the procedure prescribed in Public Law 863 of the Eightieth Congress. The 109 cases included in the concurrent resolution were among the 122 cases which were referred to the Congress on March 1, 1948: 13 out of the 122 cases which were referred to the Congress on March 1, 1948, are currently being held for further study and investigation. In each case which is recommended for approval a careful check has been made to determine whether or not the alien (a) has met the requirements of the law, (b) is of good moral character, and (c) is possessed of strong equities which would warrant the suspension of deportation. The committee, after consideration of all the facts in each case referred to in the concurrent resolution, finds that the concurrent resolution should be enacted and it accordingly so recommends its enactment. CARE AND CUSTODY OF INSANE PERSONS CHARGED WITH OR CONVICTED OF OFFENSES AGAINST THE UNITED STATES APRIL 4 (legislative day, March 18), 1949.—Ordered to be printed Mr. MCCARRAN, from the Committee on the Judiciary, REPORT [To accompany S. 936] The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (S. 936) to provide for the care and custody of insane persons charged with or convicted of offenses against the United States, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, and recommend that the bill, as amended, do pass. AMENDMENT Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment makes no substantive change in the bill but amends it in form so that all references therein are to title 18 of the United States Code. STATEMENT The bill is the product of a long study, by a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States working in close cooperation with representatives of the Department of Justice, of the problem of the care and custody of insane persons charged with or convicted of offenses against the United States. It is designed to solve numerous difficulties which have arisen in the manner of dealing with delinquents suffering from mental disorders. It provides a procedure for raising the issue as to the mental competence of an accused to stand trial and for the determination of such issue. It makes provision for the disposition of an accused who has been judicially determined incompetent to stand trial. It provides a procedure for setting aside a conviction where the issue of mental competency was not raised and determined before or during the trial, and where such mental incompetence became apparent after the defendant was sent to prison. It provides for Federal commitment, under narrowly defined conditions, of insane prisoners whose sentence is about to expire and whose release might endanger the interests of the United States. A similar bill in the Eightieth Congress was favorably reported by the committee on the Judiciary after hearings at which the following persons appeared in support of the bill: Hon. Calvert Magruder, United States circuit judge, Boston, Mass., chairman of the Committee of the Judicial Conference; James V. Bennett, Director of the United States Bureau of Prisons; Dr. Winfred Overholser, Superintendent of St. Elizabeths Hospital; and Henry P. Chandler, Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Attention is invited to the following letter, dated March 17, 1949, to the Honorable Pat McCarran, chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, from Peyton Ford, the Assistant to the Attorney General: Hon. PAT MCCARRAN, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D. C., March 17, 1949. United States Senate, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR SENATOR: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice relative to the bill (S. 936) "to provide for the care and custody of insane persons charged with or convicted of offenses against the United States, and for other purposes." For the past several years the need for improvement in the manner of dealing with delinquents suffering from mental disorders has become increasingly apparent. A disturbing number of persons are being sentenced for Federal offenses and sent to prison who, because of insanity, should not have been convicted, and who, because of their mental incapacity to participate rationally in their defense, should never have been brought to trial. There is another group of persons whose mental deficiency is not discovered until after trial and conviction but whose mental condition gives rise to the probability that they should never have been tried. A third group includes those who develop insanity while serving sentences and who have not recovered at the expiration of their terms of confinement but who cannot with safety be set at large in their communities. Of course, conviction of an insane person is void and open to attack on habeas corpus. Federal statutes, however, prescribe no procedure for determining the accused's mental competence to stand trial. The courts have dealt with the problem in various ways and it seems most desirable that a definite procedure be established for raising the question as to the competence of an accused to stand trial and for the determination of such issue. It is equally important that a procedure be available when preexisting insanity becomes manifest only after a person has been convicted and sent to the penitentiary. Likewise, there should be some provision of law authorizing the continued restraint of such persons after their sentences expire. By act approved May 13, 1930 (46 Stat. 270), the Congress authorized the establishment of a hospital for defective delinquents. This hospital is located at Springfield, Mo., and existing law includes authority for the placing therein of mentelly defective Federal prisoners. The law also provides that when the sentence of an insane prisoner is about to expire, the prison officials shall notify the proper authorities of the State of his residence and deliver him into their custody. A most serious problem arises, however, when the legal residence of an insane prisoner cannot be determined or when the State authorities refuse to accept custody or fail to accord him proper care and treatment. A committee of the Judicial Conference working in close cooperation with representatives of this Department has had this entire matter under consideration for a number of years. As a result of careful study a bill was evolved designed to solve the present difficulties. The enactment of that measure was strongly urged when it was originally presented to the Congress for enactment on March 6, 1947. Although the bill was introduced in the Senate of the Eightieth Congress as S. 850, and reported favorably with some amendments by the committee, it failed of further action. The bill under consideration is identical with S. 850, as reported by the committee, and the Department of Justice again urges its enactment. However, the above-mentioned act of May 13, 1930, was repealed by the enactment of title 18 of the United States Code on June 25, 1948. Some of the subject matter of that act, however, is contained in chapter 313 of title 18. It therefore becomes necessary to amend S. 936 in form so that all references therein will conform with the format of title 18, and effect the amendment of that title rather than the repealed act of May 13, 1930. For the convenience of the committee I am enclosing a new draft of the bill amended in form as suggested. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Yours sincerely, |